The living room was dimly lit with warm fairy lights wrapped around the curtain rails, casting a gentle glow over the space. Bowls of popcorn, chips, and soda bottles were scattered across the coffee table. Yin Yin flopped onto the large sectional sofa, hugging a plush pillow to her chest, pretending to be more excited than she actually was.
Yu Yin walked in behind her, adjusting her hoodie as she looked around, a small, puzzled frown on her lips. "We've… done this before, haven't we?" she asked softly.
Yin Yin smiled without letting her voice waver. "Of course. Friday night marathons were our sacred tradition. We used to quote every line. You used to cry during Up."
Yu Yin blinked, then chuckled faintly. "Really? Sounds like something I'd do."
Lu Chen and Mingze strolled in next, each balancing drinks and snack bowls in their arms. Lu Chen's eyes flickered toward Yu Yin almost instinctively before looking away. He didn't want to pressure her, not now. Not when she still looked at him with the same polite smile she gave strangers.
Mingze plopped down beside Yin Yin with a tired groan. "You didn't tell me the snack list would be this long. I basically ran a mini-marathon before the actual one."
"That's because you forgot the marshmallows twice," Yin Yin teased, nudging him.
Yu Yin's eyes watched the easy flow between the two. There was something comforting about it—Mingze's subtle jokes, Yin Yin's quick retorts, the way they didn't need to think before bantering. She knew she used to be part of that trio. She wanted to be part of it again. But all she could do was observe and smile like a guest.
Lu Chen sat silently at the edge of the couch, across from Yu Yin, his expression unreadable but gentle. When the first movie began—Zootopia, of all things—he didn't say much. Neither did she.
Half an hour in, everyone had settled. Yin Yin was curled up beside Mingze, who had surprisingly dozed off. Yu Yin sat with her legs tucked underneath her, shoulders slightly hunched, her focus more on the people than the screen. And Lu Chen… well, he hadn't taken his eyes off her.
She caught him once.
"Is there something on my face?" she whispered with a teasing lilt.
Lu Chen blinked and looked away, chuckling under his breath. "No. You just look… like yourself."
Yu Yin smiled, but there was something in his words that twisted in her chest. She looked back at the screen, wondering what it meant to look like herself when she wasn't sure who that was anymore.
As the second movie began, she quietly got up and padded into the kitchen. The hallway lights were off, and the moonlight pouring through the windows made her shadow stretch ahead of her. She opened the fridge door absentmindedly, but what she really wanted wasn't food—it was clarity.
She didn't hear Yin Yin come in until her best friend leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, wearing an oversized shirt with a faded cartoon on it.
"Couldn't sleep?" Yin Yin asked.
Yu Yin shut the fridge softly. "No. I just… my head feels full."
Yin Yin nodded, not saying anything. Just giving her time.
"Tonight… felt familiar. But also… not. Like I was borrowing someone else's memory," Yu Yin whispered, her fingers curling around the fridge handle.
"You're not borrowing. You're slowly reclaiming them."
Yu Yin turned to her. "Are you sure? What if I never get them all back? What if I never remember why we laughed so much, or how I used to cry over Up?"
Yin Yin stepped forward and pulled her into a hug—quiet, firm, comforting. "Then we'll make new ones. But I believe you'll remember more. You already are, Yu Yin. You just don't realise it."
Yu Yin buried her face in her friend's shoulder. "I hate this."
"I know."
They stood like that for a few seconds before Lu Chen's voice called softly from the living room. "Hey… everything okay?"
Yu Yin pulled away and turned toward the sound. He stood by the doorway, half in shadow, the glow of the fairy lights outlining his face. He looked concerned. So heartbreakingly gentle it made her chest ache again.
"We're fine," she said with a light smile, wiping her eyes quickly. "Just talking."
Lu Chen gave a small nod. "We're about to start the third movie. Yin Yin chose Crazy Rich Asians. You'll like it. You said the male lead looked like your celebrity crush once."
Yu Yin blinked. "I did?"
He smiled. "Yeah. You went on and on about his jawline."
She laughed—a real one. "Well, I do have good taste."
"You always did," he said, softer now.
Their eyes lingered for a moment too long before Yin Yin cleared her throat. "Okay! I am not letting the boys sleep through this next one. Mingze said it's too 'romantic,' so now I'm forcing him to rate every romantic scene."
Yu Yin chuckled as they made their way back. Mingze was still dozing until Yin Yin unceremoniously dropped a pillow on him. "Up. Now. Judge Henry Golding's face."
"Wha—what?!" he yelped, blinking rapidly.
Everyone burst into laughter. And for the first time in days, Yu Yin felt something real stir deep in her chest—not a memory yet, but a warmth that felt like home.
As the movie played, she sat beside Yin Yin, their hands occasionally brushing. Mingze, fully awake now, made dramatic commentary. Lu Chen offered quiet insights about scenes they'd apparently re-watched multiple times before.
And slowly… in the rhythm of jokes, shared looks, and laughter… Yu Yin's soul began to stretch toward something she couldn't yet name.
But Yin Yin saw it—felt it in the way Yu Yin leaned closer without realising, or the way she echoed a joke they hadn't spoken aloud in years.
The flickers were small, but they were there.
And soon, they'd catch flame.